Pita Pizzas

I have no idea where my dad “came up with” the idea for the original version of this meal. When mom wasn’t around (because she didn’t care for this one too much), dad would cut up pita bread into chip-sized bites and covered with cheese and pepperoni. He’d bake them in the oven until the edges were near-burnt and I’d smother the finished product in Contadina pizza sauce. It was heaven. I looked forward to my mom working late or being back east with family. That meant dad and I could have our mini pizzas.

I’ve made said mini pizzas several times in the past and they’re just as good as I remember them. However, in the last year, I’ve become slightly more cognizant of my waist line, and while I don’t deprive myself of delicious, unhealthy things, I do cut them down to a minimum, or try to “fix” them to make them healthier. While most pizza isn’t ever going to be healthy, I can sure try.

Slightly healthier pita bread, lower carb and sugar tomato sauce, lower fat cheese, and just a fewer amount of pepperoni, because let’s be honest: I hate turkey pepperoni. I think it tastes funny and shouldn’t be allowed to be called pepperoni to start. But that’s just me. Obviously you can fix these up any way you like — sans meat, more vegetables like bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, etc., but I like to keep things simple a lot of nights during the week and cutting up more stuff is just more work and I’m lazy Monday through Thursday. :)

Ingredients

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Divide pocket thins into individual segments and cut in half along the bread’s seam, turning one small pocket into two flats. Arrange on cookie sheet or other flat baking pan so they do not overlap. Dress up with a generous dollop of tomato sauce with a light sprinkle of basil, oregano, garlic, and pepper, to taste. Don’t overdo it! Add cheese, meat, veggies – whatever you want.

3) Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Check occasionally that the pita is crisping up, but not burning. It’s hard to tell when pocket bread has turned “golden”.